Athletic de Bilbao is known to have one of the most impassioned fan bases in the world. The Bilbaino faithful regularly fill their home stadium, known as La Catedral (The Cathedral), to its 39, 670 capacity; so it was no surprise to see a see of red and white, replete with flags, banners and probably their fair share of kalimotxo when Catalan giant F.C. Barcelona came to town. Rain and inclement weather does not stop these fans.
Unlike many teams in the Spanish league, Athletic (under Joaquín Caparrós) does not assume an ultra-defensive position in the face of Barcelona's imposing attack. The Lions of Bilbao contest the game from start to finish and Saturday's match was no exception.
The red-and-whites attempted to win the battle in the midfield, pressuring Barcelona and not giving their team time to pass at will. Barcelona may have had more chances early on in the game, but they did not show their usual dominance.
In the 34th minute Athletic's Amorebieta was shown a red card for a nasty challenge on Iniesta. Despite going down a man, the rojiblanco's kept fighting the good fight and looked good at the beginning of the second half.
Just when the Athletic looked best, Barcelona broke the scoreless draw. A beautifully quick touch by David Villa left Seydou Keita alone in front of goal. The Mali international scored easily.
Then in 71st minute Xavi looked to have sealed the game with an oddly bouncing shot from outside the area. With a 2-0 lead, and a man up, Barcelona was sure to win right?
There was still plenty of excitement left. David Villa was shown a red card in the 83rd minute, Athletic scored to cut the difference to 1 and then, just when Athletic looked to have the last-minute momentum, Barcelona's Sergio Busquets finished the game off with a pretty strike into the upper-left corner.
So far this season, Barcelona's front line has been dominant - with Messi, Villa and Pedro (or Bojan) each making the score sheet by the end of the game. With Messi out, it was Barca's midfield that made the difference with Keita, Xavi and Busquets animating the game and putting the ball in the back of the net.
This was a true battle between two great sides with even better fan bases. If any conclusion can be drawn from this game, it's that I want to see a game in San Mames before it's abandoned for a newer, bigger stadium in 2013 or 2014. Enjoy the goals.
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